CPE Day!

MEMBERS EARLY REGISTRATION is open! 

Please keep an eye out for Strategic Partner and other registration, opening son!

Join FEI Detroit for our second annual CPE  Day!
Earn up to 8 CPE

Event Agenda

• 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. Morning Sessions (50 min each)
• 10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Coffee & Networking Break
• 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 a.m. Mid-Morning Sessions (50 min each)
• 12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. Lunch Break
• 1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Afternoon Sessions
• 3:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Coffee & Networking Break

• 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Late Afternoon Sessions (50 min each)

  Please note: Registration is required for each individual session to receive CPE credit.
   

Location

The Mint At Michigan First Conference Center
27000 Evergreen Rd.
Lathrup Village, MI 48076
Map / Directions

Dress Code

Business Casual

Menu

Continental Breakfast
Buffet Lunch
Coffee & beverages to be provided for the duration of the event

Please indicate dietary restrictions and allergies during registration or contact detroit.chapter@financialexecutives.org as soon as possible.

Last day to Register: April 14,  2025
 

Cost

• FEI Detroit Chapter Members: Free
• Chapter Strategic Partners: Free
• Qualified Prospective-Members: Free - CODE REQUIRED; contact detroit.chapter@financialexecutives.org for qualified membership criteria and to register.
• Non-Strategic Partner Guests, Significant Others - $95
• Additional Strategic Partner Representative - $250*

*Please note: This fee applies to each strategic partner representative attending the event over the maximum allowed within a partner's sponsorship level. Please contact FEI Detroit administrator to assess registrations for your organization.

Session & Speaker Information

8:00AM – 8:50AM
"Designing for Loyalty: How Strategic Benefits Anchor Your Leadership & Top Talent Teams"
Presented by: Kurt Snyder, Senior Vice President

Today’s executive & leadership teams are navigating unprecedented transitions—retirement waves, leadership mobility, and the accelerating influence of AI on organizational capability. As workforce pressures rise, the cost of losing key talent has never been higher. This session explores how modern executive benefits serve as a strategic lever for attracting, retaining, and retiring top performers. We’ll examine hidden gaps in group benefit programs, outline practical solutions such as nonqualified deferred compensation, retirement completion structures, and supplemental disability, life, and long‑term care programs, and demonstrate how these tools address protection and savings shortfalls for critical leadership roles. Attendees will walk away with a clear understanding of how to apply a benefit‑design matrix, quantify the cost of inaction, and build a benefits framework that strengthens leadership continuity, enhances organizational readiness, and supports long‑term business performance.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the key workforce and leadership trends—including generational shifts, delayed retirements, an era of AI innovation—that directly affect executive retention and organizational stability.
• Identify gaps in traditional benefit programs that create reverse discrimination for key employees and learn how executive benefits can strategically address protection, savings, and retirement shortfalls.
• Evaluate modern executive‑benefit solutions—such as NQDC, retirement completion strategies, and supplemental disability, life, and LTC programs—and determine where they fit within your organization’s leadership and compensation structure.

1 CPE credit hour

9:00AM – 9:50AM
"Audit & Accounting Standards Updates & Reminders"
Presented by: Ben Puente, CPA

Our audit and accounting professionals will guide you through key updates and trends to support successful financial reporting. You’ll gain insights into topics such as tariffs, economic uncertainty, business combinations, upcoming FASB standards, and the SAS 149 Special Considerations – Audits of Group Financial Statements.

• Learning Objectives:
• Understand the accounting considerations of imposed tariffs and economic uncertainty.
• Identify common accounting complexities related to business combinations.
• Develop a high-level understanding of the impact of upcoming FASB accounting and auditing standards that may impact your organization.

1 CPE credit hour

9:50AM - 10:30AM Coffee & Networking Break

10:30AM - 11:20AM
 

Speaker & Presentation Information Coming Soon!

1 CPE credit hour

11:30AM - 12:20PM
"Rewriting the CFO Playbook: Data Stewardship, Cyber Resilience, and Intelligent Recovery"
Presented by: Renie Saenz, Senior Manager, Protiviti

Our audit and accounting professionals will guide you through key updates and trends to support successful financial reporting. You’ll gain insights into topics such as tariffs, economic uncertainty, business combinations, upcoming FASB standards, and the SAS 149 Special Considerations – Audits of Group Financial Statements.

• Learning Objectives:
• Understand the CFO's role in data governance and stewardship.
• Explore strategies to enhance cyber resilience and protect financial data.
• Learn best practices for implementing intelligent data recovery solutions.
• Assess the impact of emerging technologies on the finance function.

1 CPE credit hour

12:30PM - 11:30PM Lunch Break

1:30PM - 2:20PM
“2026 Macro & Markets Review: Growth Resilience, Inflation and Labor Market Dynamics, and Policy Crosswinds”
Presented by:Michael Hans, Chief Investment Officer, Citizens Private Wealth

Learning Objectives:

• Assess cycle positioning through GDP trends and financial conditions
• Evaluate consumer health signals for demand and pricing decisions and the impact to economic growth
• Interpret labor‑market dynamics and inflation and trends
• Anticipate policy responses and the direct impacts
• Review global market performance and outlook for asset allocation

1 CPE credit hour

2:30PM - 3:20PM
"AI & Data Governance: Shaping the Future of the Audit"
Presented by:  Kevin Patterson, Midwest Market Assurance Leader & Megan Odegaard, Assurance Director, Professional Practice Group – Enablement

Learning Objectives:

• Understand how technology and innovation are redefining the audit and finance landscape.
• Identify strategies for enhancing audit value through stronger governance, talent development, and trusted technology enablement.
• Understand the foundational role of data governance and the broad risks created when governance practices are insufficient.
• Understand the future direction of the audit and how organizations can collaborate with their providers to build more efficient and value‑driven audit relationships.

1 CPE credit hour

3:20PM - 4:00PM Coffee & Networking Break

4:00PM - 4:50PM
"Navigating Capital Markets in 2026:  Financing Strategies and Liquidity Solutions for Middle Market Companies"
Presented by: Ellen Beckner, Managing Director-Syndicated Finance Group & Steven Nelson, Executive Director-Syndicated Finance Group

Learning Objectives:

• Overview of Financing Markets and Market Update
• Liquidity Management Strategies
  • Structuring credit facilities to support growth, acquisitions, and operational flexibility
  • Covenant considerations and negotiating favorable terms
• Key Considerations for Middle Market CFOs
  • Preparing for capital raises: what lenders and investors are looking for
  • Managing relationships with banks, private credit providers, and capital markets investors
• Case Studies and Real-World Examples
  • Recent middle market transactions and financing structures
  • Lessons learned from successful capital raises and refinancings
  • Common pitfalls and how to avoid them
     

1 CPE credit hour

5:00PM - 5:50PM
"Cyber Risk, Resilience & Insurance Strategy: A CFO’s Guide to Financial Protection" Panel Discussion"
Panelists:

• Moderator: Nic Salden – Client Executive, Commercial Lines, Hylant
• Mike Reterstorf - Chief Information Security Officer at Plante Moran
• Brent Brinkman – Director of IT Operations & Security, Hylant
• Bob Sexton – VP of IT, Global Oversight Strategy and Standards, CSP

Learning Objectives:

• Understanding and Quantifying Cyber Risk
• Gain clarity on today’s most significant cyber and technology risks, how to assess their financial impact, and how to balance mitigation investments with risk transfer through insurance.
• Strengthening Data Governance & Operational Resilience
• Learn best practices for vendor data oversight, internal controls, business continuity planning, and communicating technology risk effectively to executive leadership and boards.
• Aligning Insurance Strategy with Emerging Threats
• Identify common coverage gaps, key exclusions to watch for, and how to work with brokers to ensure insurance programs keep pace with evolving technologies and future cyber threats.

1 CPE credit hour
 

Photo/Audio/Video Release: From time to time, the FEI Detroit Chapter uses photos and/or audio/video of participants in public event spaces in our social media channels. By virtue of your attendance, you agree to the use of your likeness in such materials, including print and/or electronic media without further notification or authorization.